Last update: 2/16/2012; 7:49:15 PM
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Thursday, February 16, 2012 
Anthony Shadid, a New York Times Reporter, Dies in Syria. Anthony Shadid, a gifted newspaper correspondent whose graceful dispatches for both The New York Times and The Washington Post covered nearly two decades of Middle East conflict and turmoil, died, apparently of an asthma attack, on Thursday while on a reporting assignment in eastern Syria. Tyler Hicks, a Times photographer who was with Mr. Shadid, carried his body across the border to Turkey. 
Saturday, February 11, 2012
World's longest power cable planned to reap gas riches - Cyprus Mail. CYPRUS could become an "energy bridge" between the European and Asian continents by 2016, if a project looking to set up a submarine power cable linking Israel, Cyprus and Greece is deemed viable.
Noble Energy Testing for Deep Oil in Levant Basin Noble Energy expects to return to Leviathan #1 in the first quarter 2012 to test a deep oil concept in the Levant basin after it concludes operations at Cyprus A-1 on Block 12 offshore Cyprus.
Offshore Israel LNG Infrastructure Contract Goes to Italian Firm Micoperi If Egyptian supplies were to reach full contracted levels, this would be enough to nearly cover Israeli needs, but the issue is that after around eight sabotage attacks on the pipeline this year, continuity of supply and the security of that infrastructure is limited, raising the likelihood of further cut-offs.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Noble Energy Announces Significant Natural Gas Discovery Offshore Republic of Cyprus. Davidson went on to say, "We would like to thank the Government of Cyprus for their productive cooperation and support in achieving an important outcome for the people of Cyprus and Noble Energy. We look forward to working closely with the Government of Cyprus to develop this discovery in a manner that maximizes value for all stakeholders."
Wednesday, February 08, 2012
Why we post our IP address. (SurvivalBlog.com) We post our IPv4 address (also referred to as a "dotted quad" or IP address) as a sort of insurance policy. Recent events have proven that a government agency or a malicious hacker can fairly easily seize or hijack a domain name. This has already happened to at least 75 U.S. web sites without due process of law. Their DNS records were changed, essentially erasing them from the "phone books of the Internet."
Sweden questions Nobel Peace Prize selection basis. OSLO (Reuters) - Swedish authorities are looking into whether the Nobel Peace Prize has been going to the "wrong" type of people, like human rights campaigners and environmentalists, in violation of prize founder Alfred Nobel's will.
Libyan diplomat dies after torture. A Libyan diplomat who served as ambassador to France for Muammar Gaddafi died from torture within a day of being detained by a militia from Zintan, Human Rights Watch said in a statement on Friday.
Saturday, February 04, 2012
Facebook: Government Regulation is 'Costly'. This is why the richer (in this case Mark Zuckerberg) get richer and others fall behind, creating an elitist class. The regulations are a burden for Zuckerberg, but he will pay to get it handled. The upstart guy doesn't have that ability and is kept out of the game (unless he somehow ends up with big money elitists backing him)
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
The Ghost Trains of China. Not only are there 40 million plus vacant apartments in China, there are also ghost trains.
Monday, January 23, 2012
Are Republicans Going to Let Bain Buy the Nomination. Bain is simply writing checks to itself and then daring the other candidates to follow suit with their own ad buys. Otherwise they risk allowing the Romney message become the only message that listeners hear.
CBS Sports Reports Joe Paterno Died, Only He Was Still Living. Immediately the report, which didn't initially cite any sources at all, swept across the Twitter universe. There was just one problem. Joe Paterno wasn't dead.
Friday, January 20, 2012
Megadeth bassist David Ellefson becomes a seminarian. Concordia Seminary in suburban St. Louis gets an eclectic mix of students in a program allowing them to train for the ministry online - electricians, farmers, entrepreneurs - and even a founder of one of the best-known thrash metalbands.
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Bush/Cheney Strategist "We Could Never Influence (Buy) Ron Paul". [VIDEO] "it wasn't really worth trying to make a deal with him because we knew he already had his mind made up."
Iowa Caucus Missing Ballots: 8 precincts numbers will never be certified. There are too many holes in the certified totals from the Iowa caucuses to know for certain who won, but Rick Santorum wound up with a 34-vote advantage.
MSNBC - Inside the secret industry of inmate-staffed call centers. When you call a company or government agency for help, there's a good chance the person on the other end of the line is a prison inmate. The federal government calls it "the best-kept secret in outsourcing" providing inmates to staff call centers and other services in both the private and public sectors.
Inaccurate GOP Results Mean Santorum, Not Romney, Winner of Iowa Caucus. Just got off the phone with Edward True. I have absolutely no doubt that his story is accurate, and that Romney received 2, not 22 votes at his precinct. Furthermore, he tells me there "There was no votes for Roemer" at his site. So wherever those 6 votes came from, he cannot say.
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
Swedish Pol to Social Services Minister: Take Custody of Homeschooled Kids! In a controversial opinion article in Aftonbladet, a prominent Swedish newspaper, Lotta Edholm, one of the leaders of Sweden's liberal party, has called for a change in the country's social services law to encourage social workers to take children away from homeschooling families.
Monday, January 16, 2012
Former U.S. CIO Vivek Kundra to Join Salesforce as Executive Vice President. Former chief information officer of the United States Vivek Kundra is joining Salesforce as its executive vice president for emerging markets. Kundra, who was the first ever CIO of the U.S., left the position in the summer of 2011 to join Harvard's Kennedy School and the Berkman Center for Internet and Society with a six-month fellowship. He joins Salesforce at a time when cloud computing is ready to be pushed across the world, a job he is specifically suited for.
Wednesday, December 28, 2011
AUDIO: Ron Paul had a "loud buzz" in his earpiece during interview... He tried to get them to fix it 15 minutes before his interview with Bob Schieffer, according to Lew Rockwell, but they didn't.
Long Non-coding RNA Punches Another Hole in "Junk Genome" Myth The non-coding regions were assumed to have no function, and were dismissed as the natural consequence of genetic "junk" accumulating over time. This paper is one among an accumulating corpus of papers discussing new and interesting functions of the non-coding regions of the genome.
Tuesday, December 27, 2011
Ron Paul CNN Interview: Did CNN Edit The Video Unfairly? (VIDEO). An uncut version of Ron Paul's seemingly testy interview with CNN surfaced on Sunday, and has raised questions about whether or not the network may have unfairly edited the interview.
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Tennessee: Family flees bullying. Ends up facing legal threat for truancy. Because their children were being bullied in public school this fall, a Nashville family decided last month to homeschool them for the remainder of the school year. Unfortunately, the principal of the elementary school where the children were enrolled refused to acknowledge their withdrawal for homeschooling even after the father met with him and expressed his concern over the school's failure to protect his children from bullying.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Police employ Predator drone spy planes on home front. Fearful of an armed standoff, he called in reinforcements from the state Highway Patrol, a regional SWAT team, a bomb squad, ambulances and deputy sheriffs from three other counties... He also called in a Predator B drone.
HSLDA - S. 1877 - Speak Up to Protect Every Abused Kid Act "S. 1877 will require new federal reporting mandates of child abuse or neglect to social services, including requiring every adult to be a mandatory reporter of child abuse or neglect."
Tuesday, December 06, 2011
Pentagon Giving Military Arms and Equipment to Local U.S. Police Forces. Passed in 1997 in the name of fighting the drug war and terrorism, the 1033 Program facilitated more than $500 million worth of military arms and equipment to U.S. police forces in 2011.
Hollywood Pedophilia. If a spate of recent allegations proves true, Hollywood may have a hideous epidemic on its hands. The past two weeks have brought three separate reports of alleged child sexual abuse in the entertainment industry.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Dutch Family Victorious in Parental Rights Case The Weijman family in Amsterdam, the Netherlands won a victory when a Dutch judge rejected a request by social services to restrict the family's parental rights simply for their choice to homeschool. The Child Protection Council, comparable to child protection services in the United States, threatened to restrict Maria Weijman's parental authority by means of a "supervision order" ("ondertoezichtstelling") for her 16-year-old twin daughters.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Waiting for China's banking system to implode. Tick, tick, tick... Wonder why China just bailed out its banks, preemptively, on Monday? Here's why. In a report issued by Credit Suisse's Sanjay Jain, the China strategist, who joins such now infamous skeptics as Bank of Countrywide Lynch's David Cui, has revised his base case Non Performing Loan ratio forecast from 4.5%-5.0% to 8.0%-12.0%: a unprecedented doubling in cumulative losses. Why unprecedented? Because as he explains, this could "would work out to 65–100% of banks’ equity." Crickets? Yes, Credit Suisse just singlehandedly said the equity value of the entire Chinese banking system is between 66% and 100% overvalued (with a downside case of $0.00).
Angelina Jolie visits Libya to show solidarity "I have come to Libya for a variety of reasons, to see a country in transition at every level and to witness efforts to fully realize the promise of the Arab Spring," Jolie said.
Obama Tells Advisers To Find How To Approve Stimulus Projects Shocker. Obama Tells Advisers To Find How To Approve Stimulus Projects "Without Additional Congressional Authorization".
California drops vaccine consent age to 12. Fisher warns the law “is making it easy for big corporations and trade organizations, including doctors and drug companies protected from vaccine injury lawsuits, to exploit ordinary people to increase influence and profits.” That’s because the power to say “No” has been transferred from an experienced adult to an impressionable child.
Monday, August 22, 2011
FOIA docs reveal the FBI spied on Antiwar.com journalist. The phone kept ringing. I picked it up with annoyance: it was our webmaster, Eric Garris, telling me about this -- FBI documents recovered through the Freedom of Information Act that detail surveillance of Antiwar.com, the staff, and specifically yours truly
Academic conference seeks to normalize pedophilia. Researchers from several prominent U.S. universities will participate tomorrow in a Baltimore conference reportedly aiming to normalize pedophilia. According to the sponsoring organization’s website, the event will examine ways in which “minor-attracted persons” can be involved in a revision of the American Psychological Association (APA) classification of pedophilia.
Wednesday, August 03, 2011
TSA will use "micro-expressions" to evaluate passenger's behaviour. "Under the SPOT program, as passengers hand over their boarding passes and identification, specially trained agents will ask three to four questions from 'Where have you been?" to "Do you have a business card?" and "Where are you traveling?" while looking for "micro expressions," such as lack of eye contact, that might hint at nefarious intent.
Saudi Arabia plans world's tallest tower. The associate company, Jeddah Economic Co, signed the SR4.6bn ($1.23bn) contract with the Bin Laden Group, a construction company, that will also own a 16.63 per cent stake in the company. Kingdom Co will hold 33.35 per cent.
Saturday, June 11, 2011
The belching of cows causes methane to be produced, one of the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming. Sir Paul McCartney, Lord Stern and a host of other celebrities have even suggested people should eat less meat and dairy to stop the problem. However feeding cattle... my.butt.org
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Neocon Obama says Gaddafi's departure from Libya inevitable. TRIPOLI/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama said on Thursday it was inevitable Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi would have to leave power and only then could a democratic transition in the North African state proceed.
Sanofi plots 2014 launch of new dengue vaccine. Sanofi Pasteur is hoping that its Phase III vaccine for the prevention of dengue fever in children and adults could hit the market by 2014, according to a Reuters report. There are currently no approved cures or preventative vaccines for the disease, which is spread by mosquitoes. About 220 million people are infected each year and the disease can be fatal if it progress into the more serious hemorrhagic stage. The vaccine is based on Sanofi's ChimeriVax technology. ChimeriVax is a live, attenuated recombinant virus constructed from yellow fever in which certain genes are replaced with that of another flavivirus. The technology has also been applied to Japanese encephalitis and West Nile virus.
Measles meme: Measles epidemic in DR Congo: Malteser International promotes vaccination in South Kivu. A five-day vaccination campaign is currently taking place in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to contain a measles epidemic which is putting more than a million children at risk. From 18 to 22 May, Malteser International's teams are assisting the vaccination of more than 630,000 children between six months and 15 years of age in 11 health zones in the South Kivu prov-ince. Almost 1,200,000 children in 25 health zones must be vaccinated in the South Kivu province alone to prevent the further spread of the disease. Children under five years are most vulnerable to measles.�
Pakistani president meets with U.S. envoy Marc Grossman. Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari on Thursday met U.S. special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan Ambassador Marc Grossman here and they discussed post-Abbotabad-operation developments, according to local media.
The meeting was the followup of U.S. Senator John Kerry's meeting with the president on May 16, in which the two sides agreed to put the relations back on track and that the relations should go forward on the basis of mutual respect, mutual trust and mutual interest, a statement from the President House said.
DNA Vaccines? Is that like GMO medicine? DNA vaccines may offer both technical and economic advantages compared with conventional vaccine approaches. DNA vaccines encode certain proteins associated with a target pathogen, rather than using any part of the pathogen itself, and can prime the immune system as well as induce antibody and T-cell immune responses. DNA vaccines contain no viral particles, are non-infectious, and can be administered on a repeat basis without unwanted immune responses. Additionally, DNA vaccines have the potential to achieve proof of concept more quickly and cost-effectively than conventional vaccines, and can be manufactured using uniform methods of fermentation and purification, allowing significantly faster development and production.
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Globalists' Pakistan War; Destabilization and Invasion Long Planned. In a 2007 article from the London Guardian titled, "Bush handed blueprint to seize Pakistan's nuclear arsenal," it is stated that fears of destabilization inside Pakistan might prompt the United States to occupy Islamabad and the provinces of Punjab, Sindh, and Baluchistan in an attempt to secure Pakistan's nuclear warheads. Behind this report is Fredrick Kagan, brother of the equally sloven Robert Kagan of the Foreign Policy Initiative, yet another contrived, corporate-fueled warmongering think-tank.
"Only the Little People Get Charged with Rape." Paul Krugman on Ben Stein's defense of Dominique Strauss-Kahn and the elitists. Krugman speaks truth to the elitists. A must read.
Measles meme: RPI student measles case rare in the U.S. TROY -- The case of measles reported this week at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute is a rare occurrence in the United States.
Health officials credit the high rate of immunization in the nation for almost wiping out the disease here. In 2008, there were only 140 cases of measles reported in the United States and most were related to foreign travel.
Here We Go: China, Pakistan joined in bonds of brotherhood in "2011 China-Pakistan Friendship Year" Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani's visit to China on May 17 is an important event of the "2011 China-Pakistan Friendship Year" and will certainly open a new chapter in China-Pakistan relations under the new international environment and historical conditions. History has proven that as neighboring countries with different ideologies, the relationship between China and Pakistan is rock-solid and timeless, and the most important reason is the solid foundation that holds together China-Pakistan relations.
Libyan Rebels Have an Economic Minister. This is getting a bit silly. This is really a bit much. First, there was news that the rebels had almost immediately, upon starting rebellion, set up a central bank. Now the latest is the rebels have an economic minister. And, he is bitching aid money isn't coming fast enough!
The economic minister of the Libyan rebels' Abdullah Shamiya says the rebels need funds to "sustain" the economy in areas they control, according to Bloomberg. Don't we all.
Karzai: NATO Killed Four Civilians in Afghan Night Raid. NATO troops are once again in hot water after an overnight raid in the Takhar Province left a family of four killed. Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the four were civilians targeted by mistake and accused NATO of conducting the raid unilaterally, without going through the channels of normal joint missions.
No Need To Audit The Federal Reserve According To GOP Flavor Of The Month, Fed Shill Herman Cain. [VIDEO]
Spitzer Madam Says She Provided Prostitutes For DSK In 2006. In September 2006, Mr Strauss-Kahn travelled to New York for a conference hosted by Bill Clinton. Miss Davis claims that month, she sent him a Brazilian-born prostitute who reported that "he was rough", said Miss Davis, adding: "She told me not to send any new girls to him."
Miss Davis was jailed in 2008 for promoting prostitution. She named Mr Spitzer, who resigned that year over disclosures that he used prostitutes, as one of her clients.
Mr Strauss-Kahn's lawyers declined to comment on the allegations. They came as the maid told a New York court of her ordeal and the IMF chief was alleged to have assaulted a maid in Mexico.
Why Bernanke Didn't Announce QE 3. The reason for this is obvious: the Fed only got about three months' worth of positive economic movement from QE 2 and it blew gas and commodities through the roof doing it.
Remember, QE 2 was only just announced in November 2010. And anyone watching the US economic data knows that we took a sharp turn for the worse in Feb 2011.
So all told, we spent some $600 billion and only got about three months' worth of improved economic data (not to mention that this "improved" data was massaged heavily).
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So it's pretty obvious why the Fed hasn't announced QE 3 yet... it needs things to get terrible in the financial markets again so everyone will be clamoring for it to intervene.
Remember last year? QE ended in March. Then we get the worst May performance in over 40 years with stocks dropping like a brick... which then allowed the Fed to announced QE lite and QE 2.
New Study: Over One Million Iraqi Deaths Caused by US Occupation. Over one million Iraqis have met violent deaths as a result of the 2003 invasion, according to a study conducted by the prestigious British polling group, Opinion Research Business (ORB). These numbers suggest that the invasion and occupation of Iraq rivals the mass killings of the last century the human toll exceeds the 800,000 to 900,000 believed killed in the Rwandan genocide in 1994, and is approaching the number (1.7 million) who died in Cambodia's infamous "Killing Fields" during the Khmer Rouge era of the 1970s.
Exultant Gates, Mullen Declare Pakistan 'Humiliated' in Raid. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Admiral Michael Mullen held a news conference today related to Pakistan. Though the order of the day was primarily making accusations about the Pakistani government (which Gates conceded were "pure supposition on our part"), the issue inevitably turned to the two top US defense officials triumphantly cheering the bin Laden raid and mocking Pakistan's inability to do anything about it.
State Dept Eyes Massive Iraq Contractor Escalation. Just because the Iraqi government has yet to approve the Obama Administration's repeated calls for the military to be allowed to remain in the nation beyond December doesn't mean the US won't have a significant number of fighters in the country come January 1. They just won't be wearing military uniforms.
San Diego: New Law Requires Pertussis Vaccine For Older Children. SAN DIEGO -- A new law may prevent older children from attending school if they are not vaccinated against whooping cough.
County officials are expressing growing concern over the spread of whooping cough -- also known as pertussis -- which is at epidemic levels not seen since 60 years.
"We've got a lot of work to do," said Dr. Randy Ward, the County Superintendent of Schools, who was referring to new legislation that would take effect on July 1.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
India's vaccine manufacturing set to soar to $800m. The Indian vaccine market is forecast to grow at 23 percent from 2009-10 through 2011-12 registering revenues around $2 Billion. Vaccines have emerged as one of the growth drivers of the global pharmaceutical industry, he said on a recent visit to New York.
BARDA awards $3 billion in vaccine contracts for eradicated smallpox. If all the options in the contract are exercised, it is worth $2.8 billion to Siga, In-Pharma explained
Clinton to visit Pakistan for "in-depth strategic discussion" about bilateral cooperation. Toner also said that Grossman is supposed to leave this week for Pakistan. He will "also continue those discussions and continue to lay the groundwork for Clinton's eventual visit," the spokesman added.
Hillary Clinton: Obama says he'll win re-election and then is "done." Does he realize we have something called term limits?
First Kerry is "The Troubleshooter." Now Marc Grossman is "Mr. Reconciliation." Marc Grossman, the replacement for special envoy Richard Holbrooke, has been nicknamed "Mr Reconciliation" and told to focus efforts on trying to facilitate a political deal which would ease a US exit [from Afghanistan].
John Kerry, Obama's "troubleshooter," being prepped for Secretary of State? Senator Kerry has become a trouble-shooter for the Obama administration in Pakistan and the US media speculated on Tuesday that he would be the next secretary of state if President Obama won re-election in 2012. Secretary Clinton has already said she intends to step down after the elections.
The revolving door of SEC to Wall Street has been going on since the very beginning. The revolving door of SEC to Wall Street has been going on since the very beginning. The very first chairman of the SEC was Joseph P. Kennedy, one of the most notorious Wall Street inside traders ever.
WV State Superintendent: "Homeschoolers Need More Oversight." WV already one of the most regulated. "West Virginia already requires an annual notification and annual assessment from every family. Only a minority of the United States require this much interaction between homeschoolers and government officials," he added.
Numerous studies affirm that homeschoolers outperform their public and private school counterparts on standardized tests of academic achievement. These studies show that increasing regulation on homeschoolers does not have any impact on academic performance. HSLDA is troubled by Mrs. Marples' comments because they reflect an inappropriate eagerness to impose additional bureaucratic requirements on a population who are doing an excellent job of educating their children. Mrs. Marple should focus her attention on the 280,000-plus public school students who need her oversight, and leave West Virginia's approximately 8,000 homeschoolers alone.
How the state created spam by artificially restricting access to medicine. The American pharmaceutical system is a highly controlled apparatus for restricting access to much-needed drugs and violating the rights of those who want to purchase them. This has long been true.
Vast amounts of those drugs that people should be permitted to purchase of their own free will are withheld from the market. Instead, people who know what they need are forced first to fork over to a physician � who then gets overpaid by insurance � then part of the buck is passed to the overtrained checkout clerks at the pharmacy. We are all treated like babies in order to sustain and fund an industry filled with bamboozlers in white coats.
Monday, May 16, 2011
The Insiders Kick-In for Mitt Romney. On a single day, Monday, Mitt Romney raised $10.25 million. He did so via a phone bank fundraiser at the Las Vegas Convention Center.
According to reports, aides refused to allow reporters into the phone bank room. Romney spent part of his day crisscrossing the phone bank room, which was flanked by two oversize American flags.
More "probable measles." DOYLESTOWN - The Bucks County Health Department has identified three probable cases of measles that could have exposed other persons while infectious.
Sunday, May 15, 2011
Debt Ceiling Expected to be Hit Monday. Get your popcorn ready. The real dramatics should start Monday.
The Treasury Department is expected to hit its $14.3 trillion borrowing limit Monday, making it unable to raise more money via the bond markets, according to CNBC.
Zimbabwe May Go On a Gold Standard; Disses U.S. Dollar. "There is a need for us to begin thinking seriously and urgently about introducing a Gold-backed Zimbabwe currency which will not only be stable but internationally acceptable," he said in an interview with state media, reports New Zimbabwe.
Haiti: The strange silence of Jean-Bertrand Aristide. "He seems to have disappeared off the radar screen," said Robert Maguire, a longtime Haiti scholar who teaches at Trinity University in Washington, D.C. "I'm surprised we haven't heard from him. I don't know what to make of it."
The secret empire behind the city's newest billionaires. As commodities giant Glencore floats, Stephen Foley digs into the controversial network that will soon be backed by UK pension funds. It is certainly the biggest and perhaps the most controversial flotation in the history of the London Stock Exchange, and it might just have produced the fattest document ever submitted for investors' perusal: a digest of a global business and all its risks which runs to 1,637 pages.
Slow Relief at the Pump As Gasoline Decouples From Crude Oil. MarketWatch reported that some refiners said their fuel sales in April had fallen by as much as 4% from March as high prices prompted consumers driving�less.��As refiners cut their run rate�due to lower gasoline demand, the resulted sliding refinery utilization rate--82.8% as of April 29 as compared with 89.6% same period a year ago--has created a diverging supply side fundamental�between crude oil and gasoline, which is more bullish for gasoline, and bearish for crude oil.
Earthquake: Magnitude 6.0 - CENTRAL MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE. Magnitude 6.0 - CENTRAL MID-ATLANTIC RIDGE
Saturday, May 14, 2011
Measles: Global measles outbreak reaches O.C. Measles is on the rise in California, with one case reported in Orange County, state health officials said Friday.
Market correction, inflation, gold standard. Schiff Report Video Blog May 13th 2011. [VIDEO]
More Questions About the Murder of Dr. David Kelly. Tony Blair, the murdering, looting, lying politician (or do I repeat myself?) clearly had Dr. Kelly knocked off, perhaps by Seal Team 7, to prevent him from telling the truth about non-existent Iraqi WMDs, and the US-UK drive to aggression. Tony must have thought that was that, but people are still investigating, despite the cover-up, and finding more and more anomalies.
Just got a (rare occurrence) note from JCD. Donations are almost zero :-(
Bloomberg: The guy watching tv in the compound was not Bin Laden. It was Akbar Khan. On May 4th Bloomberg published a story by Anwar Shakir which reported that the compound where Osama bin Laden was allegedly killed on May 1st, 2011 was owned by Rashid and Akbar Khan, who the article indirectly�implies�were buying�groceries for bin Laden, (though the evidence presented for that particular�implication seems to be based simply on the observation by a local that the men�bought a lot of food).��
Mike Rowe Senate Testimony. In high schools, the vocational arts have all but vanished. We've elevated the importance of "higher education" to such a lofty perch that all other forms of knowledge are now labeled "alternative." Millions of parents and kids see apprenticeships and on-the-job-training opportunities as "vocational consolation prizes," best suited for those not cut out for a four-year degree. And still, we talk about millions of "shovel ready" jobs for a society that doesn't encourage people to pick up a shovel.
New Yorkers under 30 plan to flee city, says new poll; cite high taxes, few jobs as reasons. ALBANY - Escape from New York is not just a movie - it's also a state of mind.
A new Marist College poll shows that 36% of New Yorkers under the age of 30 are planning to leave New York within the next five years - and more than a quarter of all adults are planning to bolt the Empire State.
GOP denies TSA money to buy more body scanners. The Transportation Security Administration's request to expand its controversial body scanner program was rebuffed this week by a Republican-led House committee.
Friday, May 13, 2011
Magnitude 6.2 - NEAR THE EAST COAST OF HONSHU, JAPAN. earthquake.usgs.gov
Fukushima: Fuel Rods Dropped to the Bottom of Reactor 3, More Highly Radioactive Water Going Into Ocean. THE operator of Japan's stricken Fukushima nuclear plant reported new problems yesterday, including a water leak from a reactor vessel and another spill of contaminated water into the ocean.
The update by Tokyo Electric Power Company came as the government announced a cull of thousands of cattle and other livestock now roaming the 20km evacuation zone around the Fukushima plant.
Central Banks Purchase 127 Tons Of Gold In Q1. Most have heard by now that Mexico disclosed that back in Q1 it bought 93.1 tonnes of gold, increasing its total gold holdings from 7.1 tons to a whopping 100.2 total tons, a stunning move which was disclosed to have been done "in line with prudent diversification principles of reserves management." However, what is less known is that many other central banks, chief among them Russia and Thailand were also waving the shiny yellow metal in between January and March. And just as importantly, from the World Gold Council, from where this update comes: "The latest statistics show no significant selling by the signatory central banks in Year 2 of the third Central Bank Gold Agreement (CBGA3)." So no central banks sell, yet the daytrading retail public knows better. As for the key question of whether China is adding to its meager holdings of 1,054 tons, which put it behind the GLD, not to mention France and Italy, there is no update. Recall, however, that when China announced an addition of +454 tonnes of gold in April of 2009, this indicated stealthy purchases of the metal in the 2003-2009 period. In other words, China is very likely accumulating gold and the next update will likely come some time in 2015.
French plans to topple Gaddafi on track since last November. According to right-wing Italian journalist Franco Bechis, plans to spark the Benghazi rebellion were initiated by French intelligence services in November 2010. As Miguel Martinez from the progressive ComeDonChisciotte website observes, these revelations which have the blessing of the Italian secret services should be interpreted as the sign of existing rivalries within the European capitalist camp.
Vaccines: Human and animal DNA. Not sure what all this means, but it sounds terrible. "Merck said only that they would make no further vaccines out of this cell stock. They continued to use existing supplies of the vaccine until it was depleted in 1992. Approximately 30 million children worldwide were injected with this vaccine. There are at least forty known simian viruses passed to humans through vaccination and children are now found to be infected with SV-40."
Here Are The Refineries And Nuclear Power Plants Threatened If The Morganza Spillway Is Opened. As we reported previously, Obama has found himself on the verge of another environmental scandal now that he has no choice but to redirect the Mississippi river via the Morganza spillway - either lose millions in barrels of daily refined production and potentially the impairment of the Colonial Pipeline, two events which would promptly cause gas prices to soar to new records, or redirect the river via the Spillway, and cause the flooding of millions of acres, and numerous towns and cities, and possibly another New Orelans bases crisis.
The Glaciers Of Norway And Alaska Lost Half Their Size Between 1902 And 1952. CO2 was less than 315 ppm, yet Alaska lost half of her glaciers in only 50 years. Showing once again how spectacularly dishonest the alarmist position is. How is reducing CO2 to 350 ppm going to stop glaciers from melting? There isn't one shred of evidence to support that idea.
RIAA Scores $105M USD from Limewire, Gives Nothing to Artists. In today's market many independent musicians view the big record labels as a parasitic entity of sorts, exploiting talented musicians, inflating undertalented pop stars and lavishly spending, while crying over "dropping" profits. Of course, not everyone feels that way, but a recent settlement between major label copyright watchdog group the Recording Industry Association of America(RIAA) and filesharing service LimeWire does little to convince observers otherwise.
EPA Halts Daily Reporting of Radiation Levels. In a convoluted announcement made on Monday, the EPA appears to be halting its daily reporting of radaiation levels in the United States and is resorting to quarterly reports. From the EPA:
Neo-Cons Drag Out New Horse to Go After Ron Paul. Lew Lehrman was also an investor in George W. Bush's very curious Arbusto Energy, which means, on top of it all, Lehrman is probably CIA. Lent an as a replacement for Ron Paul is like going to a five star restaurant and ordering filet mignon and getting as a replacement a hot dog with a stale bun and no mustard. The insiders are getting real desperate if they are trotting this horse out.
Disney Trademarks "Seal Team 6." In a perfect example of a big media company looking to capitalize on current events, The Walt Disney Company has trademarked "Seal Team 6," which also happens to be the name of the elite special forces team that killed Osama Bin Laden.
Bill Clinton Calls for Federal Internet Censorship Agency. Former Murderer-in-Chief and inveterate liar Bull Clinton wants the United States government to create an "independent" agency to check misinformation and rumors floating around on the internet. In premiere bull artist Clinton's own lies words:
New Taser weapon causes "most excruciating pain imaginable." [VIDEO] This video discusses Taser International's latest weapon, the Taser Extended Range Electronic Projectile (XREP). Like traditional Taser devices, the XREP is an electroshock weapon, however, it is fired from a shotgun as though it were ammunition and can hit targets up to 100 feet away.
Report: NATO Air Strike in Brega Kills 11 Imams. According to reports coming out of the disputed city, a NATO air strike has hit a peace delegation in Brega, Libya, killing 11 Muslims clerics as they slept. Images of the slain imams were broadcast on Libyan state television.
Court: No right to resist illegal cop entry into home : Federal Jack. Overturning a common law dating back to the English Magna Carta of 1215, the Indiana Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Hoosiers have no right to resist unlawful police entry into their homes.
In a 3-2 decision, Justice Steven David writing for the court said if a police officer wants to enter a home for any reason or no reason at all, a homeowner cannot do anything to block the officer's entry.
Pakistan Air Force Chief: Forces Ready to Shoot Down US Drones. Future drone attacks might be a seriously risky matter, however, as Pakistan's Air Force Chief of Staff Marshal Rao Suleman reported that the air force is now prepared to shoot down future drones if given authorization to do so by the Zardari government.
Staten Island man pours life savings into ads for May 21 doomsday. The end is nigh, insists Robert Fitzpatrick. And he's put his money where his mouth is. If the world doesn't end on May 21, one week from tomorrow, he'll have wasted more than $140,000 on bus and subway advertising.
Obama helps Republican militarists take control in Haiti. Ronald Reagan's creation, the National Endowment of Democracy (NED), a quasi-private government funded organization has been busy for over 20 years in Haiti making it the training ground and laboratory for their private army of "Democracy Enhancement" agents. The NED and USAID funnel cash to other "Technical Assistance" (TA) organizations, having 501c(3) status � even though it can be demonstrated that most, if not almost all of these private nonprofit organizations are essentially involved in partisan politics, and are all about disrupting "civil society" to turn them against popular democratic movements.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Unprecedented: Obama admin. claims right to censor 'unclassified' materials. With less than a month before Drake's trial begins, the Obama administration has filed a memo with the court claim the Classified Information Procedures Act (CIPA) gives courts the right to censor and withhold material that is "unclassified."
A Man Dies After Being Tasered 34 Times, But The State Rules Police Officers Involved Aren't Responsible For His Death. A Waterbury man died earlier this month after being hit with a police stun gun. In Middletown, a state investigation recently exonerated police in the May 2010 death of a man who died following 34 shocks by a Taser weapon.
NATO Troops Kill 12-Year-Old Afghan Girl, Police Officer in Overnight Raid. The history of NATO night raids in Afghanistan has already been littered with failures and civilian casualties, and was worsened again today as officials admitted that an overnight raid targeted the wrong house, killing a 12 year old girl and a man employed by the National Police, whom officials had initially termed a "Taliban leader."
House Committee Approves $690 Billion in 2012 Military Spending. The House Armed Services Committee today approved a record $690 billion military spending budget for fiscal year 2012. The bill includes a $553 billion base budget, as well as $119 in emergency spending on wars. Other spending on nuclear weapons were also included.
Japan Confirms Nuclear Meltdown. [VIDEO]
Algeria: Ruling Party Supports Gaddafi & Blasts NATO. Allegations of Algeria's continues support of the regime of Colonel Gaddafi have surfaced again. This time, however, the assertion of Algeria's active role in defending the Libyan dictator came with indisputable evidence in the form of a 15 minutes speech by a high-ranking member of Algeria ruling National Liberation Front (FLN) party.
Uh oh. Complete Zeus Trojan Source Code Leaked. Bad news for your inbox and antivirus software: the Internet now has free access to the ZeuS trojan source code (aka Wsnpoem/Zbot). This means anyone can alter the files, compile them together and launch their own tailor-made malware attack without shelling out a single dime.
Tepco: Fukushima Fuel Rods Are Fully Exposed. Tokyo Electric Power Co. said fuel rods are fully exposed in the No. 1 reactor at its stricken Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear plant, setting back the utility's plan to resolve the crisis.
The water level is 1 meter (3.3 feet) below the base of the fuel assembly, Junichi Matsumoto, a general manager at the utility known as Tepco, told reporters at a briefing in Tokyo. Melted fuel has dropped to the bottom of the pressure vessel and is still being cooled, Matsumoto said. The company doesn't know how long the rods have been exposed, he said.
Sunday, April 10, 2011
California Seizing Property from Safety Deposit Boxes As reported by ABC News, what started out as a program to hold unclaimed property, such as the contents of safety deposit boxes owned by people who have moved away without a forwarding address, has gone wildly out of control. The program is now using the flimsiest of excuses to drill safe deposit boxes and sell the contents, often for below-market value, the proceeds going to the state's general revenue.
California Seizing Property from Safety Deposit Boxes As reported by ABC News, what started out as a program to hold unclaimed property, such as the contents of safety deposit boxes owned by people who have moved away without a forwarding address, has gone wildly out of control. The program is now using the flimsiest of excuses to drill safe deposit boxes and sell the contents, often for below-market value, the proceeds going to the state's general revenue.
Japan Clears Suspended Vaccines to Return to Market A panel of medical experts soon concluded that the child deaths weren't connected to the vaccines. Japan's health ministry followed on Thursday by announcing that the vaccines could return to use shortly, possibly as early as April 1, the companies said. Officials at the ministry couldn't immediately be reached for comment.
New Motorized Vaccine Injection Needle Mimics Mosquito Bite Japanese researchers say they've developed a motorized hypodermic needle patterned after a mosquito's mouth parts that hurts less than a conventional one.
Saturday, April 09, 2011
National Labor Relations Board Hit with FOIA Requests over Google Ads The National Right to Work Legal Foundation has stepped in to call out the NLRB with a Freedom of Information Action (FOIA) request that seeks all documented business transactions between the Board and Google related to online ad buys beginning in 2008.
The Afghan Drug Trade and the Elephant in the Room the authors neglect to draw the corollary, rather leaving it up to readers to put two and two together and realize that this means that the lion's share of the Afghan drug trade is under the control of elements friendly to the Afghan government and/or the foreign occupying forces.
Security Firms Threaten to Leave Afghanistan Over Back Taxes Some private security companies guarding diplomatic and aid missions and critical infrastructure facilities in Afghanistan are threatening to withdraw from the country if President Hamid Karzai's government follows through on its plans to impose on them hundreds of millions of dollars in back taxes.
Computer Trading Algorithms Controlling the Oil Price? "The speculators have taken control of the market and it's now out of control." "We have electronic trading driving the price of oil right now..." "On a $50,000 oil position... you could move a million dollars intraday." [click thru for video]
Secret US Prisons in Afghanistan Revealed Recently however US government and military officials confirmed to AP the existence of the secret prisons, but contended they existed as temporary holding centers used to gather intelligence. They said detainees were held at such sites for 14 days, unless it is deemed necessary they stay longer. The program remains classified, and details from the government have been released anonymously.
Taxpayer Bill of Rights(TABOR) Author Arrested for Tax Evasion Anti-tax activist, Douglas Bruce, 61, was arrested at the post office and thrown in jail for allegedly not paying enough in state taxes. Local politicians, most of whom loathe Bruce with the heat of a thousand suns, are no doubt giddy at the prospect of the middle-aged Bruce rotting in a taxpayer-funded cage for a few years and having his property seized by the state that would be much, much bigger if it weren't for Bruce's efforts.
TSA Molests Child in New Orleans In the TSA's collectivist mind, it is okay to molest a child, as long as you warn the child and parent that you will be touching the child's "sensitive areas" with the backs of your hands. Nevermind that the mother is threatened beforehand if she tries to protect her child from this disgusting abuse.
'Bones' Recap: The Feet on the Beach Episode "The case the dynamic duo work entails identifying a murder victim by his feet that washed up on the U.S. and Canadian border."
Friday, April 08, 2011
George Soros looks to establish new global finance system. A new global economic policy will be on the table at a meeting in the American town of Bretton Woods. Economists, finance experts and scholars from across the world are gathered at the conference, held by billionaire George Soros.
The chosen venue has great historic significance -- this was the setting of the famous Bretton Woods Conference of 1944, which set the monetary system for the world as we now know it.
A List of Conservatives You Can and Cannot Trust "Some time ago I thought it would be a good idea to get my thoughts on some major conservatives and republicans in print before everyone declared for president. Hopefully I am still in time."
How Long Until We "Go Greek?" That is a shocking figure. So when people ask me when I think the U.S. will "go Greek," my exercise this morning reinforced my stock answer: within six years, or as of the next recession, whichever comes first.
The View on Inflation from the Streets of America "The government says inflation is low, but that's not what I'm seeing at the grocery story," Jorge Alberto, an 88-year-old retiree in Miami, said walking out of a supermarket. "My pension is being put to the test."...
"I don't think the Federal Reserve has a clue about us little people," said J. McKeever, an instructor at the Montessori Institute of Milwaukee.
The Facebook Securities and Exchange Commission The review by the Securities and Exchange Commission, disclosed in a letter to a lawmaker, could fuel the fast-growing market in private shares of technology firms such as Facebook Inc., Twitter Inc. and Zynga Inc. The steps under consideration would help such privately held companies raise more money without incurring the increased reporting and other requirements of becoming a public company.
China: The Only Thing I Worry About Is Water The only thing I worry about is water. China has one of the worst water problems in the world. Unless you solve your water problem, there's no China story. I've been around the world a couple of times, I've seen whole cities, societies and countries disappear because of water problems. The amount, quality and supply of water could lead to the end of China's story if the problem is not solved in time.
Where Did the Twitters Go? The pensioner was digging for scrap metal when she hacked into a fibre-optic cable which runs through Georgia to Armenia, forcing many thousands of Internet users in both countries offline for several hours on March 28.
Monetary Policy Hearing (4/7/2011) -- Ron Paul Followup Commentary Here, Ron Paul gives some brief history of the metal currency market in regards to monetary policy. He asks some questions of Terence Hanlon about how the Mint distribution works and if the Mint could handle selling direct to the public.
Monetary Policy Hearing (4/7/2011) -- Witnesses Opening Statements The opening statements from each witness, with better audio quality.
Monetary Policy Hearing (4/7/2011) -- Ron Paul Opening Statement. Ron Paul's opening statement. Audio boosted as usual so actual humans can hear it.
New Blog: Lew Rockwell's Political Theatre Even though I was once deeply involved in it, before going straight, I hate politics; it is, after all, virtually always a struggle among criminals for the power to loot and kill our fellow men. Elections are corrupt and corrupting, even when they don't stuff the ballot boxes. In other words, politics is government. But I can't take my eyes off politics. It's as if I'm passing a train wreck and slowing down. I can't help it.
Male Rape in the Military Being Confronted When men in the military rape other men in the ranks, no one wants to talk about it. In this week's Newsweek, Jesse Ellison looks at why the sexual assault of males in the service is finally being confronted.
The Obama Regime Gives Itself Permission To Wage Unlimited War The United States Constitution, as the Obama Regime pretends to understand it, is a most peculiar document, one that is actually enhanced by the criminal actions of public officials who brazenly violate its most explicit provisions. Most people would assume that such actions would tarnish the Constitution. As the administration tells it, however, decades of persistent presidential contempt for the Constitution have conferred an "historical gloss" on the document, just as decades of determined obfuscation of its unambiguous and easily understood war powers provisions have "clarified" their meaning.
Thursday, April 07, 2011
Obama Pal Arrested in Prostitution Sting One of President Obama's closest friends was arrested in Honolulu in a prostitution sting, as he attempted to solicit sex from an undercover police officer. Robert Richard Titcomb is a close childhood friend of Obama, dating back to the playground at Punahou School which they both attend. The two are frequently seen playing golf, basketball and dining together.
Russia to Get First Lunar Base in 20 Years The specialists tried to persuade the PM that Russia should send two unmanned spacecraft to the Moon's poles to search for water.
This is needed to supply the first settlers, which could be sent there as early as in 20 to 30 years.
The March Towards Internet Totalitarianism The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals today held the Federal Trade Commission can seize privately owned websites if they don't promote their competitors...
UN: Food Prices Rose 15% in Fourth Quarter 2010 This year, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported that its index of food prices was the highest in its more than 20 years of existence. Prices rose 15 percent from October to January alone, potentially "throwing an additional 44 million people in low and middle-income countries into poverty," the World Bank said.
Jesse Ventura: "US Weapon Caused Japan Disaster" "The US's HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program) weapon system can cause natural disasters, including earthquakes and tsunamis like the one that happened in Japan,"... Jesse Ventura told CNN's Piers Morgan in a recent interview.
Obama to Host Town Hall at Facebook Headquarters The event will be streamed live from Facebooks Palo Alto headquarters. The topic of the town hall will be the economy. Say, isn't Facebook where Robert Gibbs, President Obama's former Press Secretary is considering take a big buck job offer? Small world.
Libya: The DC/NATO Agenda and the Next Great War. In the 1930s, the US, Great Britain, and the Netherlands set a course for World War II in the Pacific by conspiring against Japan. The three governments seized Japan's bank accounts in their countries that Japan used to pay for imports and cut Japan off from oil, rubber, tin, iron and other vital materials. Was Pearl Harbor Japan's response? Now Washington and its NATO puppets are employing the same strategy against China.
Ron Paul Hearing: Watch Live - 2011.04.07 HEARING: "Bullion Coin Programs of the United States Mint: Can They Be Improved?"
WITNESS LIST: Ms. Beth Deisher, Editor, Coin World Magazine; Mr. Terence Hanlon, President, Dillon Gage Metals Division; Mr. Ross Hansen, Founder, Northwest Territorial Mint; Mr. Raymond Nessim, Chief Executive Officer, Manfra, Tordella & Brookes, Inc.
Ron Paul Hearing: Watch Live - 2011.04.07 HEARING: "Bullion Coin Programs of the United States Mint: Can They Be Improved?"
WITNESS LIST: Ms. Beth Deisher, Editor, Coin World Magazine; Mr. Terence Hanlon, President, Dillon Gage Metals Division; Mr. Ross Hansen, Founder, Northwest Territorial Mint; Mr. Raymond Nessim, Chief Executive Officer, Manfra, Tordella & Brookes, Inc.
Ron Paul Hearing: Watch Live - 2011.04.07 HEARING: "Bullion Coin Programs of the United States Mint: Can They Be Improved?"
WITNESS LIST: Ms. Beth Deisher, Editor, Coin World Magazine; Mr. Terence Hanlon, President, Dillon Gage Metals Division; Mr. Ross Hansen, Founder, Northwest Territorial Mint; Mr. Raymond Nessim, Chief Executive Officer, Manfra, Tordella & Brookes, Inc.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Peter Schiff Exposes Glenn Beck as Greedy Hypocrite. "Ever since I came out against Goldline...I haven't been on the show once. I used to have a lot of respect for Glenn Beck. His viewers are basically being ripped off (by Goldline), he doesn't care."
Don't Format Your Mac Just Yet: First Russian OS to hit the web by late 2011 The national program will cost tax payers 88 billion rubles. Despite the huge cost, the head of the project says only 10 per cent of code for the new OS will be original. On the upside, the system will be released as free-ware.
Meet the Creepy Obama Cult I mean that if he and I were in a room and disagreed about some issue on which I had any doubt at all, I'd literally trust his judgment over my own. I think he's smarter than me, better informed, better able to understand the consequences of his actions, and more farsighted. I voted for him because I trust his judgment, and I still do.
Glencore IPO Set for May 13. Trading Starts in London on May 24. Glencore International, the global commodities trader, is set to start trading in London on May 24 and in Hong Kong on May 25, Hong Kong daily newspaper Ming Pao reported on Thursday. Glencore is expected to kick off its initial public offering (IPO) in Hong Kong on May 13, the newspaper said, citing market sources. The global commodities trader is seen selling 20 percent of its share capital in the IPO, raising about $12 billion, the report added.
Food Prices Stir Concern About Biofuels Mandates. The starchy cassava root has long been an important ingredient in everything from tapioca pudding and ice cream to paper and animal feed. But last year, 98 percent of cassava chips exported from Thailand, the world’s largest cassava exporter, went to...China to make biofuel.
Reject AFRICOM? Get Invaded Gaddafi got himself targeted [by refusing] to be part of the US Africa Command. The US Africa Command (AFRICOM) was created by order of President George W. Bush in 2007. Forty-nine countries participate in the US Africa Command, but not Libya, Sudan, Eritrea, Zimbabwe, and Ivory Coast. There is Western military intervention in these non-member countries except for Zimbabwe.
Wagging The Libyan Dog: Selling You a War Hill & Knowlton Style Modern marketing companies would label this story a "hook." According to journalists, every big media event ideally needs a "hook," which becomes the central element of a story that makes it newsworthy, evokes a strong emotional response, and sticks in the memory. An ideal "hook" may turn public opinion from being opposed to the war to being supportive of the war.
Wagging The Libyan Dog: Selling You a War Modern marketing companies would label this story a “hook.” According to journalists, every big media event ideally needs a “hook,” which becomes the central element of a story that makes it newsworthy, evokes a strong emotional response, and sticks in the memory. An ideal “hook” may turn public opinion from being opposed to the war to being supportive of the war.
The Gold Bubble That Just Won't Pop The gold price reached a new all-time high yesterday of $1,457 an ounce and most investors are probably just shaking their heads at the craziness of it all -- who in their right mind would pay almost $1,500 for a dumb 'ol one ounce gold coin? Of course, they were shaking their heads at $1,200 an ounce, $1,000 an ounce, $725 an ounce, $500 an ounce, and so on, calling it a bubble ever since the price started rising about ten years ago when you could have bought the metal for about $300 an ounce. That's one tough gold bubble...
Demon Drink Prohibitionists: Leave Us Alone! Sometimes I drink Scotch and then, to wake myself up, I drink coffee. So what? Many people consume mixtures of caffeine and alcohol in drinks like rum and Coke. But recently some college kids started drinking pre-mixed combos of alcohol and caffeine with names like Four Loko and Moonshot '69. A new bogeyman was born: caffeinated alcoholic beverages.
When Police Interrogate Children In recent years police have increasingly exerted authority over grade-school children. In 1998 the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 (Part Q, Title I) was amended to create active "collaboration" between police departments or agencies and "school and community-based organizations." Since then, public schools have increasingly come to resemble prisons, with metal detectors, locker searches, and zero-tolerance policies under which students can be suspended for even speaking of violence.
Exactly What Is a "Government Shutdown"? Other than a consummation devoutly to be wished, that is. Well, since the government lies as its everyday MO, we can know, first of all, that a government shutdown is not a government shutdown. The bombing and conquering do not stop, for example. The dictator on his own say-so funds the "essential" work of government: killing, looting, spying, etc. He has the Fed at his command, too. The "non-essential" employees are sent home for an unpaid vacation, to be changed into a paid vacation when the shutdown shuts down. The few things the boobeoisie like--the propaganda museums and monuments, for example--are also shuttered. But otherwise, nothing happens. It is just more of the Republican-Democratic political theatre.
Withdrawal? US Baghdad Embassy Will Double Staff Size to Almost 20,000 The U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, already the largest in the world, is expected to double its staff after American forces pull out of the country later this year, Washington's envoy said on Friday. "We'll be doubling our size if all of our plans go through and if we receive the money from Congress in 2011 and then again in 2012," James Jeffrey, the U.S. ambassador in Iraq, told reporters.
What Would and Would Not Close in the Government "Shutdown" Headfake Closed: IRS, National Parks, Smithsonian, Cherry Blossom Festival, EPA Permitting, NOT Closed: Social Security Payments, Tax Refunds, Tax Collections, Military, Law Enforcement, Federal Reserve
Squirrel! Fed Would Stay Open Amid Government Shutdown "Since it doesn't rely on Congressional funds, the U.S. central bank would remain open for business as usual, with normal staffing levels. The Fed would therefore be able to continue with... buying some $7.0 billion [of government debt] on Monday, April 11."
$40 Silver? Almost. Not quite. Give it a few hours: it just hit $39.70.
Ryan Plan – "Kick It Down the Road" On his way to a presidential bid congressman Paul Ryan came forward with a blockbuster budget. The suggestion is that we can trim (get this) $6.2 Trillion out of future budgets. The result of this will be that we get back to long-term fiscal balance. Gosh that sounds good! Actually it's bullshit. We will never see the savings that Mr. Ryan has projected. We will (economically) die first. The Ryan plan just kicks the can down the road for a decade.
Cumulative Low-Level Doses of Radiation Can Cause Big Problems. Still want to go through that TSA body scanner? When scientists speak of radiation, they speak not only of single doses but also of cumulative doses. Many studies have shown that repeated exposures to low levels of ionizing radiation from CT scans and x-rays can cause cancer.
Liberty Shots #3 -- The Cruelty of UN Sanctions Many times in the U.S., when we hear about U.N. "sanctions" against a particular country we see that as some kind of mealy mouth pansy act. It's what you do when you're too scared to go in and kick butt right? Well, the reality is that UN sanctions are brutal for a population. Sometimes as bad as war itself.
"Discovered" Codices Likely Frauds "The only possible explanation is that the text on the bronze tablet was copied directly from the inscription in the museum at Amman by someone who did not understand the meaning of the text of the inscription, but was simply looking for a plausible-looking sequence of Greek letters to copy. He copied that sequence three times, in each case mixing up the letters alpha and lambda. This particular bronze tablet is, therefore, a modern forgery, produced in Jordan within the last fifty years. I would stake my career on it."
Middle-East Dictators Foaming For Glencore IPO Glencore, in the past few weeks met with... institutional investors, including sovereign wealth fund Kuwait Investment Authority (Kuwait Investment Authority), Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (Abu Dhabi Investment Authority), Qatar Investment Authority (Qatar Investment Authority) and the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (Government of Singapore Investment Corporation).
The Impotence of the Loyal Partisan Voter But whatever else is true, one thing is for certain: dedicated partisans who pledge their unbreakable, eternally loyal support for any Party or politician are going to be steadfastly ignored (or worse) by that Party or politician, and rightfully so.
Glencore to Announce IPO Within Two Weeks Swiss commodity group Glencore International AG has seen higher-than-expected demand for its shares from big investors ahead of its dual listing in Hong Kong and London, according to a Wednesday report by the Financial Times... The U.K.s Telegraph reported Monday the privately held company is planning to announce its intention to float shares within two weeks.
Tuesday, April 05, 2011
DNA From Washed-up Foot Doesn't Match Kitsap County Women DNA analysis shows that a human foot found on Whidbey Island on Aug. 27 did not belong to either Kara Radabah or Shantina Smiley, both of Kitsap County.
The "Horrific" Life of the Police Officer For forty hours a week (or more, if they are trying to milk their departments' overtime rackets), police officers are required to forget the moral standards that govern their private interactions with their own friends, families and neighbors and adopt the moral outlook of the sociopath and the gangster.
Want To Grope People At Random In Airports (Not Just At Security)? Join The TSA! The TSA's sexual assault-as-security theater continues. The latest involves reports from a woman, who, despite having already cleared security..., was approached by a TSA agent near the gate for her flight, and told that he had to give her a pat-down on the spot.
Every Member of Seattle's Legislative Delegation Goes on the Record in Favor of Legalizing Pot The final holdout was 46th District Representative David Frockt. However, after a little goading..., Frockt called last night to say that he had come around. He wouldn't commit to any specific bill, but said, "I am okay with legalization, I am okay with regulation, and I am fine with taxation."
Cops Think You Should Just Shut Up Slave "The column itself is just inane. The police responses to it in the comments section are horrifying." -via theagitator.com
The Militarization of the Police Over the past few decades, police in the United States have become increasingly militarized. It's becoming more and more common to see police carrying military-grade weapons and wearing combat armor. Police departments across the county - even those in small towns - are forming paramilitary police units...
Fired NPR CEO Rips Sting Artists, Admits Rest of Establishment is 'Terrified' Fired NPR CEO Vivian Schiller lashed out, calling the undercover sting an "abomination." She admitted the rest of the establishment is "terrified" of being the next NPR, Planned Parenthood or ACORN...and speculated that the goal of these stings is to instill fear. "It's terrifying," Schiller said, that's their "objective."
Interesting Chart: Oil Prices, Inflation & US Recessions. Follow link to see chart: http://g.mrpl.co/a5uk
Bernanke Living in Fantasy Land "I think the increase in inflation will be transitory," Bernanke said in response to questions after a speech. "Our expectation at this point is that in the medium term inflation, if anything, will be a bit low. We will monitor inflation and inflation expectations very closely." - Ben Bernanke
Paul Ryan's Fraudulant "Slashing" of Government Spending Ryan's "radical" budget would only reduce government spending to 20% of GDP by 2015. Obama wants to cut it to 23%. It is currently at 25%. In other words, there's only a 3 percentage point difference between Ryan's proposal and that of wild spending Democrats. And, this of course is before all the Congressional horse trading that goes on that would surely boost spending levels.
Russian Census Records Elves and Hobbits as Races The people who carried out the census say that if the elf, hobbit and goblin populations continue to grow, they may soon have to be officially recognized as races.
One thing for certain is that Russia has a lot of people with a sense of humor -- and that's official.
The Most Important Thing We Can Do... The most important thing we can do is to nullify the State in our own minds, first and foremost.
Food prices record biggest gain since 1974 Food prices soared 3.9 percent last month, the biggest gain since November 1974, according to the Labor Department's producer price index. And cotton prices have risen nearly 60 percent over the past three months, putting pressure on manufacturers and retailers to jack up clothes prices.
Princeton Lyman - Our New Man in Sudan (http://mrpl.co/2h) - Ambassador Princeton N. Lyman is an adjunct senior fellow for Africa policy studies at the... wait for it... Council on Foreign Relations (CFR). He served as director of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) from '76 to '78.
U.S. Ambassador to Ecuador Kicked Out Over WikiLeaked "Cable" WikiLeaks has claimed another WikiLoser: U.S. Ambassador Heather Hodges, who was kicked out of Ecuador today over a cable detailing alleged corruption in President Rafael Correa's government. "It is unfortunate that the published documents on WikiLeaks have made it impossible to continue collaborating with the current ambassador to Quito, but we hope to work with a new ambassador," Ecuador's Washington embassy said in a statement today, according to the Associated Press.
Report Reveals UK Arms Sales to Libya Four Months Before War Ministers approved the export of sniper rifles, bullets, tear gas and other "crowd control" ammunition to Tripoli shortly before the murderous dictator ordered his military to crush a pro-democracy uprising
New Taser Grenade Tested on Reporter Everytime I hear that someone has been Tased, or a reporter has allowed himself or herself to be Tased I hope they crap themselves. I would think if you have been holding in a deuce all day and you get hit with a Taser you’re going to have more than a turtlehead poking out.
Queen dissolves Canadian Parliament for 3rd time in 3 years. In news that was alarmingly under-reported even in the alternative media, Queen Elizabeth’s Governor General David Johnston approved Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s request to dissolve Parliament on March 26 for the third time in 3 years. The move came after Parliament’s first ever vote of no confidence against Stephen Harper. Elections have been scheduled for May 2.
NY Times 2008: An Endowment From Colonel Qaddafi "That check was the final payment of the Qaddafi money," Brother Carty said. "Muammar Qaddafi has turned out to be our single biggest donor..." The money to De La Salle Academy is among the final payments made by Libya to the survivors of people who were killed 20 years ago this month when Pan Am Flight 103 was blown up over Lockerbie, Scotland.
Memo suggests FBI had mole inside ABC News in 1990s A once-classified FBI memo reveals that the bureau treated a senior ABC News journalist as a potential confidential informant in the 1990s, pumping the reporter to ascertain the source of a sensational but uncorroborated tip that the network had obtained during its early coverage of the Oklahoma City bombing.
First Responders, NYPD Conduct ‘Dirty Bomb’ Drill In NYC A week-long series of terror drills involving dozens of agencies and first responders begins Tuesday in the Big Apple. The focus will be on one of the great concerns of the post-9/11 era: nuclear terrorism.
General Petraeus tipped to take over CIA This summer it will be musical chairs among President Barack Obama's national security team. Leon Panetta, the CIA Director, is widely expected to take over from Bob Gates as Pentagon chief. General David Petraeus, who is said to be exhausted and eager to leave Afghanistan, is being tipped by NPR as a serious contender for Panetta's job.
Libya War Cost So Far: $550 Million The total U.S. costs for the Libya air campaign as of March 28 were $550 million, not counting normal deployment spending.
Ex-BP CEO Hayward Could Be Director of Post-IPO Glencore Ex-BP chief executive Tony Hayward, who left BP last year following the Gulf of Mexico oil spill disaster, is in talks to set up an energy-focused investment fund. Hayward is also in talks to become the senior independent director of commodities trader Glencore when it lists.
Battling Cigarette Taxes by Selling 'Loosies' on the Streets of NYC. By 8:30 a.m., amid the procession of sleepy-eyed office workers and addicts from the nearby methadone clinic, Lonnie Loosie plants himself in the middle of the sidewalk on Eighth Avenue in Midtown. Addressing no one in particular, he calls out his one-size-fits-all greeting: "Newports, Newports, packs and loosies."
Teen Jobless Rate is 37.3% in Georgia. Thanks Minimum Wage! The figure calculated by the Washington, D.C.-based Employment Policies Institute placed the Nevada teen unemployment rate at 32.9 percent. Georgia led the way with a rate of 37.3 percent followed by California, South Carolina and Washington state.
Monday, April 04, 2011
Labor Force Participation Lowest Since 1983 The percentage of Americans in the labor force of 64.2% is the lowest since 1983. The employment to population ratio of 58.5% is also the lowest since 1983. These atrocious figures are after a supposed economic recovery that has been underway for the last 18 months.
Darpa: We Have Conflicts of Interest All the Time The director of the Pentagon’s premiere research arm has hundreds of thousands of dollars invested in one of her agency’s contractors — and an outstanding IOU with the firm for hundreds of thousands more. But according to her deputy, it’s no cause for concern. In fact, the financial ties are the price Darpa pays for excellence.
Epsilon Breach Raises Specter of Spear Phishing Security experts are warning consumers to be especially alert for targeted email scams in the coming weeks and months, following a breach at a major email marketing firm that exposed names and email addresses for customers of some of the nation's largest banks and corporate brand names.
Conspiracy Theories, History, and The State Jeff Riggenbach explores the nature of consipiracy theories, why they are important, and Cass Sunstein's efforts to subvert them.
Newark Police Illegally Detain Honors Student Khaliah Fitchette, a 17-year-old honors student and junior class president at University High School, was riding the bus last March when she witnessed Newark police officers Noemi Maloon and Lloyd Thomas come to the aid of another passenger who collapsed. She decided to record the heroic act using her cellphone video camera.
These Gas Prices are a Game What's the cause of this ramp? Don't believe "supply and demand" for a second. Cushing Oklahoma, which is where the NyMEX light sweet crude contract is delivered, is at historical highs for the amount of oil stored there - to the point that people are bypassing it as their tanks are full.
Feds To Steal $7 Million in Private Silver Dollars “Feds seek $7M in ‘Liberty Dollars’ that were invented by man to compete with US dollar”
Like the state itself, the state’s news service–AP–has no sense of irony. The SPLC plays it usual delator role, of course.
What Ron Paul Should Do About the Kid Glove Treatment the U.S. is Giving Gadaffi's Bank. There' some pretty odd goings on with Arab Banking Corp. and the United States government. The Federal Reserve pumped in huge money amounts of money into the bank during the financial crisis and the Treasury is falling all over itself giving ABC exemptions from the all encompassing freeze the President has placed on Gaddaffi assets. It certainly suggests that there is more going on behind the curtain. Perhaps it is time to find out.
Peter Schiff Video Blog on the Jobs Report Schiff: "The reality is that I understand the problems. They don't."
Airport security scans: What would your doctor do? "I'm a doctor at M.D. Anderson, and I don't want radiation if I can avoid it," he said. I was next in line. I'd just watched a doctor at M.D. Anderson, a top cancer hospital, opt out because he wanted to avoid radiation. Does that mean I should, too? I had a second to make a decision. I decided to opt out, too.
Libyan Rebels Have Central Bank. Now Shipping Oil. The quickness with which Libyan rebels have been able to set up the logistics and infrastructure to ship oil from Libya continues to amaze. As I have pointed out, the rebels have already set up a central bank and the U.S. Treasury, thinking way ahead during its freezing of the assets of Libya's National Oil Corp, added this clause to its relase on the freezing of Gadaffi's oil assets
The Military Industrial Complex in Five Minutes. Tom Woods discusses the military-industrial complex.
Global Elitist Pushing for World Currency Wants $390 Billion SDRs Issued Every Year. Former-World Bank chief economist Joseph Stiglitz is out with a commentary at FT. He's calling for more use of SDRs, which elitists have been trying to push on the world since 1969.
Glencore IPO aims for the stars as Qatar eyes stake. Qatar, one of the sovereign wealth funds flagged as a possible "cornerstone" shareholder, is considering investing in Glencore, the country's prime minister said on Monday.
The Fed Undermines Foreign Policy The Fed lent huge sums of our money to foreign banks. This in itself was not surprising, but the actual amount is staggering! In one week at the height of the crisis, about 70% of the money doled out went to foreign banks.
The Most Uncounted Cost of Endless War Graham in particular -- using the "but" that is the hallmark of all enemies of the First Amendment -- said: "Free speech is a great idea, but we're in a war."
Genetically modified cows produce "human" milk The scientists behind the research believe milk from herds of genetically modified cows could provide an alternative to human breast milk and formula milk for babies, which is often criticized as being an inferior substitute.
Out of Control Inflation In Argentina Argentina’s 40 million people are spending, too — as a way to protect themselves from rising prices. They’re buying everything from flat-screen televisions to cars and even property. Sales of such goods as home appliances, toys and clothing soared 39.5 percent in December from a year earlier, the biggest increase for that month since at least 1998. Auto sales gained 43.3 percent in unit terms, the most since 2004.
Here Come the Increases in Coffee Prices Price inflation is about to hit from every angle. ... All indications are that it will hit hard in the second half of this year. The only persons who appear not to be concerned about price inflation are NYT columnist Paul Krugman and his former Princeton colleague, Ben Bernanke, and other members of the Fed.
Liberty Shots #2 -- Is Christianity Compatible With Libertarianism? The always excellent Laurence Vance explores the topic.
Sunday, April 03, 2011
Wachovia Paid Trivial Fine for Nearly $400 Billion of Drug Related Money Laundering Wachovia was at the heart of one of the world's biggest money laundering operations, moving $378.4 billion into dollar-based accounts from Mexican casas de cambio, which are currency exchange firms. While these transfers took place over a period of years, the article notes that it equals 1/3 of Mexican GDP.
Federal Agents Prevail in the War on Lawn Darts Yep, online stings to eradicate the selling and repairing of toys that don't meet the official approval of the Safety Czars and the handful of folks who lost a family member because someone was careless with lawn darts.
Amazon.com: 63 Documents the Government Doesn't Want You to Read (9781616082260): Jesse Ventura, Dick Russell: Books. There's the Freedom of Information Act, and then there's Ventura's way.
Here Come “The Boots On The Ground" While it has been made very clear that no US "boots" would be on the ground in Libya, except for those beloning to CIA operatives of course, no such stigma applies to Europe. Which is why we were not surprised to read the following from RIA Novosti: "The European Council on Friday approved the decision to mount an EU military operation to support humanitarian efforts in Libya, if asked to do so by the United Nations."
2,000 Year Old Depiction of Jesus Found? After lying for nearly 2,000 years hidden in a cave in the Holy Land, the fine detail is difficult to determine. The extraordinary picture of one of the recently discovered hoard of up to 70 lead codices -- booklets -- found in a cave in the hills overlooking the Sea of Galilee is one reason Bible historians are clamouring to get their hands on the ancient artefacts. If genuine, this could be the first-ever portrait of Jesus Christ, possibly even created in the lifetime of those who knew him.
Samantha Power to be the next Secretary of State? A flattering New York Times profile has increased speculation that Samantha Power, the Dublin-born aide to President Obama, could be his next Secretary of State or National Security Adviser. She has been the main architect, along with Hillary Clinton, of the Libya policy and has an increasing influence in the White House inner circle.
Saturday, April 02, 2011
Long time love affair between MSNBC and America's wars - RT Blogger, filmmaker and former journalist Danny Schecter said television makes war possible. "We couldn't have wars in America if TV networks didn't glorify them in some way and make them exciting, give action oriented coverage and give what I call militainment," he remarked.
Libya bombing an attempt to create 'New World Order'? Soros is also a primary funder and key proponent of the global organization that promotes the military doctrine "Responsibility to Protect," cited by the White House as allowing the use of force to attack Gadhafi's forces.
Gadhafi son toured US in weeks before uprising. Khamis Gadhafi, 27, spent four weeks in the U.S. as part of an internship with AECOM, a global infrastructure company with deep business interests in Libya, according to Paul Gennaro, AECOM's Senior Vice President for Global Communications. The trip was to include visits to the Port of Houston, Air Force Academy, National War College and West Point, Gennaro said.
US Backs R2P (Responsibility to Protect) Ahhh, so this is why we're in Libya: "United Nations (July 2009): The Obama administration is supporting moves to implement an U.N. doctrine calling for collective military action to halt genocide. In a week-long debate on implementing the Responsibility to Protect Doctrine, the U.S. joined a majority of U.N. countries, including Russia and China, in supporting implementation of the policy. The doctrine itself was approved in 2005 by more than 150 states including the U.S."
"The doctrine specifies that diplomatic options such as internal conflict resolution, sanctions, and prosecution by the Internation Criminal Court, should be used first. If they don't work, then a multi-national force approved by the Security Council would be deployed."
Farmers and Seed Producers Launch Preemptive Strike Against Monsanto. Lawsuit Filed To Protect Themselves from Unfair Patent Enforcement on Genetically Modified Seed. Action Would Prohibit Biotechnology Giant from Suing Organic Farmers and Seed Growers If Innocently Contaminated by Roundup Ready Genes.
More than 1,000 killed in Ivory Coast town "More than 1,000 civilians have been killed in a western Ivory Coast town." Shouldn't Obama have invaded Ivory Coast yesterday to prevent this?
Report: 2001 Anthrax Attacks Were Preventable The Army scientist believed to have caused the 2001 anthrax attacks that left five dead and paralyzed Capitol Hill and media organizations had severe psychological problems, was obsessed with a sorority and should never have been given security clearance or access to deadly pathogens, according to a newly released report.
War's Unbelievable Price Tag. But how much did NPR cost taxpayers? Last year, the news organization got $5 million from the federal government. That's the cost of about three or five Tomahawk missiles, 112 of which Obama launched into Libya just over the weekend. This means the savings to taxpayers from eliminating federal funding for NPR over a period of 25 or so years was offset by this one "limited" military activity, itself just the beginning of one relatively minor military engagement.
How to Garner Support for a War Start one. The day before Obama bombed Libya, 3/4 of Americans opposed U.S. intervention. Today, 60% of Americans favor it. A whopping shift of about 35% meaning more than a third of Americans changed their minds about U.S. intervention, once the bombs began falling. Surreal.
War-Mongering Women's Place Is Not in Power Unfortunately, War-Mongering Women cross party lines, and according to numerous press accounts, Hillary Clinton followed the new normal for female Secretaries of State and was the key to "convincing" President Obama to move from strong words to military action in Libya
Ron Paul Will Investigate Fed and the U.S. Mint « LewRockwell.com Blog. The May Ron Paul monetary subcommittee hearing will expose the Fed's shenanigans with foreign banks. In April, Ron will investigate the constant shortage in gold and silver bullions coins from the US Mint.
Texas Cops Ticket Thousands of Schoolchildren to Raise Revenue, Some as Young as 6-Yrs-Old. This is how low your government will go. Cops in Texas have been writing thousands of tickets to schoolchildren for $250-$500 each for the "crime" of "misbehaving in school" so the government can raise revenue. This has been going on now for over five years.
Ron Paul "Lies Are Told To Get Us Into These Wars" Ron Paul "Lies Are Told To Get Us Into These Wars"
FBI Launches 1 Billion $ Biometrics Project With Lockheed Martin The FBI launched this week a massive program aimed to record all citizen’s biometrics data. This will eventually enable instant surveillance and recognition of any individual walking on the street or entering a building. The 1 Billion $ deal was awarded to Lockheed Martin - world’s largest defence company, who is part of elite groups such as the CFR (Council of Foreign Relations) and the Trilateral Commission. In short, Lockheed Martin is the official defence company of the world’s shadow government.
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